British Museum (Natural History) General GuideBritish Museum (Natural History)
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British Museum (Natural History) General Guide
British Museum (Natural History)
British Museum (Natural History) -- Guidebooks; Natural history museums -- England -- London -- Guidebooks
The wall-cases on the east side of the gallery (right on entering)
contain the fishes with completely bony skeletons (Teleostei); to which
division belong by far the greater part of the species now inhabiting
the waters of the globe. Large and remarkable examples are placed in
separate cases opposite to the wall-cases. As the colours of fishes
are very fugitive, and disappear more or less completely after death,
most of the mounted examples have been painted. The fishes allied to
the Perch, Gurnard, Mackerel, Sword-Fish, Wrasse, Cod, Plaice, Catfish,
Salmon, Pike, and Eel are represented by numerous examples. Specially
noticeable, so far as size and external form are concerned, are the
Sunfishes, _Orthagoriscus_ (fig. 19).
Even more strange are several of the species of deep-sea Fishes
exhibited in a table-case in the Fish-gallery, which live at depths
where the sun’s rays cannot penetrate, and many of which are
self-luminous. Two deep-sea Fishes are shown in the accompanying
illustrations (figs. 20 and 21). From another point of view, special
attention may be given to the Sucker-Fish or Remora (_Echeneis
remora_), fig. 22, which attaches itself by the sucker on the top of
its head to the bodies of Fishes or Turtles, or to the bottom of ships.
As it attaches itself back-downwards, the under-parts are coloured dark
while the back is light; a condition just the reverse of that obtaining
in ordinary Fishes.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--LOWER VIEW OF THE HEAD OF A SAW-FISH.
(_Pristis antiquorum._)]
The western or left side of the gallery is devoted to the exhibition of
certain very different types of Fishes, which were much more numerously
represented in ancient times than at present. The majority have a
cartilaginous skeleton. Among these may be specially mentioned the
Bichir of the tropical African rivers, the Gar-Pike of North America,
the Sturgeons, the Lung-Fishes (Dipnoi) of South America, Africa, and
Australia, the Chimæras, and finally the Sharks and Rays. Among the
two latter are included the singular Hammer-headed Shark (_Zygœna_),
and the Saw-Fishes (_Pristis_), which have long projecting flattened
snouts, with a row of teeth arranged something like those of a saw on
each side (fig. 23). A remarkably large specimen from the coast of
British Guiana of a species of this group (_Pristis perrotteti_) is
exhibited. Another very small division of Fishes comprises the Lampreys
and Hags, of which a few specimens are shown.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--THE BASKING SHARK (_Selache maxima_).]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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